(01-29) 18:15 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- An East Bay man who stole $2.5 million from investors in the San Francisco nonprofit he headed while it was being driven into bankruptcy by con man Samuel "Mouli" Cohen was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sentenced Hari Dillon to a prison term 10 months longer than federal prosecutors had recommended after a hearing that included testimony from some of Dillon's victims, investors in the now-defunct Vanguard Public Foundation.

"He decimated the lives of those he called friends," said Cindy Woods, who described herself as a former friend of Dillon's and a swindled investor, along with her family. "He's simply a sociopath, not a victim."

But the judge and a federal prosecutor both said Dillon had been taken in by Cohen. Cohen was convicted of 29 counts of fraud and related charges in November 2011 after a jury trial that included prosecution testimony by Dillon. Breyer sentenced him to 22 years in prison in April.

"You were blinded by the correctness of the causes you were advocating," Breyer told Dillon. "You have ruined a foundation and you have dealt a devastating blow to organizations that promote social justice."

He postponed Dillon's imprisonment for several weeks to allow investors' lawyers to question him in suits seeking reimbursement from both Dillon and Cohen, whose sentence includes a $31.4 million restitution order. Dillon, 64, has filed for bankruptcy.

Vanguard had provided funding since 1972 for civil rights, environmental and antiwar causes. Dillon, a student protester at San Francisco State in the 1960s and a longtime activist, became the foundation's president in 1994.

Actor Danny Glover, who had once been Vanguard's co-chairman, arranged a meeting between Dillon and Cohen, a Marin County businessman, after Cohen approached him in 2002 with a tale that his company, Ecast, was about to be acquired by Microsoft Corp.

Encouraged by Dillon, the foundation's investors sank millions into Ecast stock until the fraud was revealed in 2008, prosecutors said. They said Dillon admitted skimming investors' money and using some of it for luxury living at high-priced hotels and chauffeured limousine service.

Dillon claimed he planned to repay the money from the Ecast profits, which never materialized.

He admitted wrongdoing when federal agents approached him, and cooperated in the investigation, prosecutors said. Dillon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in 2010.

Defense lawyer Garrick Lew asked for an 18-month sentence, saying Dillon had been a fraud victim, had lost all his possessions and should be judged by his good works as well as his crimes. Dillon told Breyer he was prepared to be held accountable.

"My heart goes out to all those who lost so much and who suffered and continue to suffer," he said, promising to do whatever he could to repay them.